Council removes ‘unacceptable’ signs telling women to walk on one side of the road following backlash

Some members of the public were concerned the signs were not explained clearly (Picture: @Sean__Clare/Twitter)

A London council has removed signs telling women they must walk on one side of the road following an angry backlash from residents.

Images of posters reading ‘Women should please walk along this side of the road only’ beneath Hebrew writing were discovered on lampposts, garden walls and green cable boxes in Stamford Hill and uploaded to social media by concerned locals.

It later transpired that the signs had been put up by orthodox Jews to prevent members of the opposite sex touching during religions procession.

However, despite quick removal by Hackney Council, senior members of a Jewish neighbourhood watch group, councillors and social media users expressed concern that they were not explained to the wider public.

‘It’s quite unacceptable to try to restrict women’s movements in a public place,’ Stamford Hill West council member Rosemary Sales told The Standard.

‘Shomrim have since contacted the event organisers, and explained that these posters lacked explanation in the English text, and therefore could have offended people who don’t understand the Hebrew wording and the logo,’ said Chaim Hochhauser, of the Stamford Hill Shomrim group, who work with police to tackle crime in the area.

The signs, which were put up during the Torah Procession, were intended to keep men and women separate during dancing in order to prevent touching between men and women who were not related or married.

A police spokesman said that parade organisers promised to remove the signs more quickly next year, and to write only in Hebrew to reduce the potential for misinterpretation.